Winner of three Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Godfather was nominated for an additional eight Oscars. The brainchild of celebrated author Mario Puzo, the film is considered the crowning achievement of Francis Ford Coppola's directing career. With intriguing depth, it provides audiences with a glimpse into the notorious underworld of warring New York crime families. As a result, The Godfather transformed a number of relatively unknown actors into Hollywood legends, among them being James Caan, Al Pacino, and Robert Duvall (all three of whom were nominated for Best Supporting Actor). In addition, Marlon Brando turns in, arguably, the most memorable performance of his career. Certainly among the top five films of all time, an excellent case could be made that The Godfather is the most perfect movie ever produced... …show more content…
Vito's favorite son Michael (Al Pacino) has come home from the war (World War II), and he's determined to do something different with his life, and his ambitious plans don't include joining the family business. An idealist at heart, the young Michael seduces his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton) with inspiring tales of the fine and upstanding things he will do with his life. Through the eyes of Michael, the audience learns of the family's various business methods and the hierarchy of its system. Vito's eldest son Sonny (James Caan) is the heir apparent to his father's empire. Middle son Fredo (John Cazale) performs his part in the business, but few consider him a possible successor. Providing legal council to the family is Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), a long-time friend of the family who Michael treats as a
The characters in these films were savvy, secretive and wealthy unlike the gangsters seen in Little Caesar and Scarface: The Shame of the Nation. Brian De Palma’s Scarface (1983) payed homage to the original, and although they follow roughly the same storyline, De Palma’s remake is more reminiscent of The Godfather films than its predecessor. Tony Montana (Al Pacino), the film’s main character, worked his way up from poverty by selling drugs and committing horrifying acts of violence in order to attain the power, wealth and woman he so desired. In his 1983 review of Scarface, Pulitzer prize winner, Roger Ebert states “Al Pacino does not make Montana into a sympathetic character, but he does make him into somebody we can identify with, in a horrified way, if only because of his perfectly understandable motivations” (RogerEbert.com). More than fifty years later, Ebert expresses similar thoughts to those of Robert Warshow, esteemed film critic and author of “The Gangster as a Tragic Hero.” “…We [the audience] gain the double satisfaction of participating vicariously in the gangster’s sadism and then seeing it turned against the gangster himself.” (Warshow) These sentiments are exactly what the censorship of the 1932 version intended to prevent, yet Scarface (1983) did not receive the same scrutiny. Despite the mixed reviews that Howard Hawk’s original Scarface: Shame of the Nation and Brian De Palma’s
“A&P” and “Godfather Death” are stories that fall under two different categories in reading. While “A&P” is a short story and “Godfather Death” is a folktale, it is clear that there are differences between the two stories. Despite their differences, there are some similarities shown through the protagonists of each story. Sammy, the protagonist of “A&P”, is an all-around character who is close to his family but makes poor decisions. The godson, the protagonist of “Godfather Death”, is also an all-around character and loves his job but takes advantage of his godfather, Death. Although Sammy and the godson are the protagonist in each story, they have differences regarding their work ethic and heroism, but they also share a few similar personalities.
Money, murder, power, and loyalty, the epitome and basic essentials of any Mafia movie. Initially, when watching two of the most popular titles in this genre, Goodfellas and The Godfather, they may have similar themes, but in all truth, they are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. While Goodfellas welcomes you to the family with a friendly smile and a voice-over, The Godfather makes you stand astray and watch in silence as an outsider.
The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American Mafia in cinema?
All in all, this film is the dark side of the American dream. Brian De Palma did an excellent job at creating memorable scenes, such as the scene earlier explained and the famous ending with Pacino reciting “Say hello to my little friend”. Throughout the film some confusion is made due to frequent slips but overall the theme is consistent and remains consistent with the help of a strong cast. Without a doubt Al Pacino was the main star of the film and it probably wouldn’t have been such a success if another star was assigned his character. It’s hard to see anyone else playing Tony Montana after Al Pacino’s performance. This film, though full of violence and crime, protrudes moments of humor and controversial situations. It’s a momentous film created in the 80’s that is still considered a classic gangster film in today’s generation.
Does family matter? Yes- family always matters. It is necessary to have some sort of family structure in order to have a stable foundation. This need for stability and structure is how the family survives and the children find safety. In the movies The Godfather and Scarface we will discover how the two differ when it comes to family and family business. These two patriarchs have different views on family and how the family is involved in the business. In this discovery one struggles to gain and maintain power- but looses everything in the process. While the other maintains the family through peace negotiations and understanding business and revenge can not always go hand and hand in order for the family to survive.
Money, murder, power, and loyalty, the epitome and basic essentials of any Mafia movie. Initially, when watching two of the most popular titles in this genre, Goodfellas and The Godfather, they may have similar themes, but in all truth, they are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. While Goodfellas welcomes you to the family with a friendly smile and a voice-over, The Godfather makes you stand astray and watch in silence as an outsider.
I believe the reason that, 'The Godfather', is such a great film is because it lets audiences decide whether they like the characters or not. Too many movies made about organized crime begin with some seemingly random act of violence. 'The Godfather', however, lets it be known from the start to judge the characters in the film based on what type of person they are instead of the criminal activities they may engage in.
The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.
In the fairy tale “Godfather Death” contained in the book Grimm’s Tale for Young and Old: The Complete Stories as translated by Ralph Manheim, the central theme is betrayal. The apparent betrayals take place seven times in the course of a man’s life, mainly for personal gain. Each person doing the deceiving, whether for the good of the family or kingdom, truthfully ends up lying to others in order to gain something of significant value. In the end, a father deceives his son twice, the son deceives his royal family and his own godfather twice and the godfather deceives his godson once.
People have many different dreams, and many different ingredients for happiness. Some people relay on love, others lean towards money, it may be achieved through money, relationships, or even the misfortune of others, but why does power have the persuasion to change a person and what drives them to gain more?
The Godfather is most notably one of the most prolific films of its time. This "gangster" film displayed many transformations of permeating color to give the viewer observable cues in its mise en scene that drew one right into the movie. The dramatic acting set the tone of the film with a score that lifted the viewer right out of their seat in many scenes. The directing and cinematography made The Godfather ahead of its time. The nostalgic feel of family importance and the danger of revenge lets us into the life of the Mafia. Even though no other techniques would have given the viewer a feeling of inside the mob like the mise en scene of the power the godfather held, the characters are reinforced literally and figuratively because the story views the Mafia from the inside out, and the cinematography of the film gives it a dangerous and nostalgic feel.
The Christian Worldview in “Godfather Death” The fairy tale “Godfather Death” is an anonymous fairy tale that was transmitted orally, probably for centuries, and eventually written down by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Notoriously known as “the Brothers Grimm,” they travelled around the German countryside and had peasants recite their folk tales to them. They then wrote the stories down and published them to preserve them for posterity. If the Grimm Brothers had not taken this initiative, “Godfather Death” would have been lost forever since the oral tradition was fast dying out in modern industrial civilization.
The Godfather Death is a story about choice and perception, how a man view the powers of the world, whether they were good, bad, or considered to be neutral.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON "GODFATHER DEATH", A FAIRY TALE WRITTEN BY JACOB LUDWIG GRIMM AND WILHELM CARL GRIMM